Pre-metering system for feeding different types of seed into a seed meter

ABSTRACT

A pre-metering system for feeding different types of seed into a seed meter of a planter includes separate feeder wheels that are selectively rotated to deliver different types of seed from on-row storage into the seed meter at a given time. The feeder wheels may be supported by a feeder wheel carrier that may also support various wall and ramped structures, such as upright divider walls and sloped walls that maintain separation between the different types of seeds in the on-row storage and direct the different types of seed toward the individual feeder wheels.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional non-provisional utility patentapplication based upon U.S. non-provisional utility patent applicationSer. No. 15/453,063, entitled “PRE-METERING SYSTEM FOR FEEDING DIFFERENTTYPES OF SEED INTO A SEED METER,” filed Mar. 8, 2017, which is herebyincorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to planters and, in particular, toplanters for planting multiple types or varieties of seed and a systemfor feeding different types of seed into the seed meter, such as apre-metering system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Modern farming practices strive to increase yields of agriculturalfields. Technological advances of planters allow for better agronomiccharacteristics at the time of planting, such as providing more accurateseed depth, improved uniformity of seed depth across the planter, andimproved accuracy of in-row seed spacing. To reduce operating expenses,farm equipment is operated at relatively faster travel speeds, whichreduce the amount of operating time to complete certain tasks. Whenoperating equipment at faster travel speeds, it can be important tomaintain the quality of operation and good agronomic characteristicsthat can be achieved while operating at relatively slower operatingspeeds. This can be especially difficult to accomplish during planting,which requires precise seed depth placement and spacing accuracy inorder to maintain a good seed environment. Furthermore, a single fieldcan have yield performance inconsistencies between different areas ofthe field. That is because a field can have a wide variety of soil typesand management types or zones, such as irrigated and non-irrigated zonesin different areas. Seed companies are developing multiple varieties ofeach of their seed product types to optimize yield in these differentareas. The different seed varieties offer improved performancecharacteristics for different types of soil and management practices.Efforts have been made to plant multiple varieties of a particular seedproduct type in different areas of fields with different soil types ormanagement zones. These efforts include planters that have differentbulk fill hoppers and require the reservoir for each seed meter to becompletely cleaned out or planted out before a different seed varietycan be delivered to the seed meters. Some planters allow for plantingtwo varieties and include ancillary row units or two separate anddistinct seed meters at every row unit. Other planters allow forplanting multiple varieties by feeding seeds of different types to seedmeters at different times.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to systems for row crop planting thatallow for planting multiple types of seed in the same field withoutstopping operation of the planter by way of a system for feedingdifferent types of seed into seed meters. This may be done by way of apre-metering system, such as an on-row selective seed meter feedingarrangement that can selectively feed different types of seed into theseed meter at each row unit.

According to one aspect of the invention, multiple type or multiplevariety planting is accomplished with an on-row pre-metering system thatselectively rotates feeder wheels to deliver a particular type of seedto a seed meter as a function of, for example, position in a field, seedtype, planting rate, and ground speed. The pre-metering system rotatesthe feeder wheels to deliver seeds to the seed meter, which may includedoing so in discrete seed-charging events for feeding the seed meter.Decisions on which type of seeds to provide in the next seed chargingevent may be made based on distance or time to reaching a different zonewithin the field. When the type of seed to be planted will be switched,the pre-metering system may stop feeding the current seed type to themeter and monitor the level of seed within the meter. When the seedlevel is sufficiently low, the pre-metering system may start rotation ofa different feeder wheel to feed the next seed type to the meter toreduce change over time and volume of mixed seed presented to the seeddisk.

According to another aspect of the invention, a pre-metering system forfeeding different types of seed into a seed meter at a row-unit of aplanter for planting an agricultural field is provided. The pre-meteringsystem may include a feeder wheel carrier arranged between multiplecompartments of an on-row seed storage system that separately storesmultiple types of seed and a seed meter. Multiple feeder wheels may besupported by the feeder wheel carrier. Each of the multiple feederwheels may be arranged to receive seed from a respective one of themultiple compartments and selectively deliver the seed toward the seedmeter.

According to another aspect of the invention, at least one seed sensormay be arranged at the seed meter for detecting a low level seedcondition within the seed meter. The multiple feeder wheels may beselectively rotated to feed one of the multiple types of seed to theseed meter based on the detected low-level seed condition within theseed meter. The feeder wheel(s) may be rotated based on a determinationof an approaching zone change in which a different type of seed shouldbe planted. The approaching zone change can be identified based oncriteria such as planting rate value(s) for a particular seed type,ground speed value(s), heading, and approximate distance or time untilreaching the next zone in the field. Determining the approaching zonechange may include an evaluation of a planting rate value, a groundspeed value, and a position of the planter and/or tractor in theagricultural field. Determining the approaching zone change may alsoinclude an evaluation of a distance to an approaching zone that isdifferent than a currently planted zone and a planting density value.This allows a comparison of, for example, how many feet between acurrent position and the next zone with a seeds/acre and/or seeds/feetvalue(s) as the planting density value to predict a zone changeoverevent.

According to another aspect of the invention, the feeder wheel carriermay include a main carrier body with interconnected walls that extendaround a carrier cavity. The feeder wheels may be arranged within thecarrier cavity. The carrier cavity may define multiple carrier cavitysegments that are separated from each other and the feeder wheels may bearranged in the multiple carrier cavity segments.

According to another aspect of the invention, the compartments of theon-row storage system may include compartment outlets with slopedsurfaces that slope toward the feeder wheel carrier to funnel the seedtoward the feeder wheels. The sloped surfaces at each compartment outletmay be defined by front and back ramped arrangements that each slopedownwardly toward the respective feeder wheel. The front and back rampedarrangements may be spaced from each other to define a slot thatoverlies the respective feeder wheel.

According to another aspect of the invention, an insert is housed withinan on-row hopper. The insert defines the feeder wheel carrier andprovides at least one divider wall that extends upwardly from the feederwheel carrier to separate the compartments of the on-row hopper.

According to another aspect of the invention, a multi-variety planter isprovided. The planter includes a frame that supports multiple row units.An on-row seed storage system includes multiple compartments arranged ateach row units for separately storing seeds of multiple types. A seedmeter is arranged at each row unit and is configured to singulate seedsfor delivery onto the agricultural field. The seed meter has a housingwith a seed inlet for directing seeds into the seed meter. Apre-metering system is arranged at each row unit for feeding differenttypes of seed into the seed meter at different times. The pre-meteringsystem may include a feeder wheel carrier arranged between thecompartments and the seed inlet of the seed meter housing. Multiplefeeder wheels may be supported by the feeder wheel carrier. Each feederwheel is arranged to receive seed from a respective one of thecompartments and selectively deliver the seed toward the seed inlet ofthe seed meter housing.

According to another aspect of the invention, a bulk seed storage systemstores seeds and at least one of the compartments of the on-row seedstorage system receives seeds from the bulk seed storage system. Thebulk seed storage system may include multiple bulk storage compartmentsthat hold multiple types of seed that are delivered to the compartmentsof the on-row seed storage system. At least one of the compartments ofthe on-row seed storage system may be configured as a manual-fill bulkstorage compartment that does not receive seeds from the bulk seedstorage system. The on-row seed storage system may include a mini-hopperand the multiple compartments are defined within an upper portion of themini-hopper. The mini-hopper may include a hopper outlet defined withina lower portion of the mini-hopper and the feeder wheel carrier may bearranged at an intermediate portion of the mini-hopper, between thecompartments in the upper portion of the mini-hopper and the hopperoutlet in the lower portion of the mini-hopper.

Other aspects, objects, features, and advantages of the invention willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription and accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however,that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicatingpreferred embodiments of the present invention, are given by way ofillustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications maybe made within the scope of the present invention without departing fromthe spirit thereof, and the invention includes all such modifications.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings in which like reference numerals represent likeparts throughout.

FIG. 1 is a simplified schematic representation of a planter with apre-metering system for feeding different types of seed into seedmeters;

FIG. 2 is a simplified schematic representation of a portion of theplanter of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is another simplified schematic representation of a variation ofthe portion of the planter shown in of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an isometric view of a portion of a row unit of the planter ofFIG. 1

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional side elevation view of a portion of a rowunit of the planter of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an isometric view of portions of the pre-metering system ofFIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an isometric view of a feeder wheel carrier of thepre-metering system of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a method of continuous feeding of usingthe pre-metering system;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a method of incremental feeding using thepre-metering system; and

FIG. 10 is an example of a seed variety prescription map for use withthe pre-metering system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings and specifically to FIG. 1, amulti-variety planting system is shown as planting system 5 for plantingmultiple types or varieties of seed by feeding different types of seedinto the seed meter at different times from on-row storage, as explainedin greater detail elsewhere herein.

System 5 includes an agricultural implement, shown here as planter 7,which may be one of the EARLY RISER® series planters available from CaseIH and is typically pulled by a traction device such as a tractor 9. Aframe 11 of the planter 7 supports multiple row units 13 that aresubstantially identical. Each row unit 13 includes various support,metering, and ground-engaging components. These may include a sub-framethat is connected to the frame 11 of the planter 7 by way of a parallellinkage system and furrow opening and closing mechanisms toward frontand back ends of the row unit 13. The opening and closing mechanisms mayinclude opener disks and closing disks, respectively, or otherground-engaging tools for opening and closing a furrow. Each row unit 13may include a gauge wheel configured for adjusting furrow depth bylimiting soil penetration of the furrow-opening mechanism while creatingthe furrow, and a press wheel may be arranged to roll over the closedfurrow and to further firm the soil over the seed to promote favorableseed-to-soil contact.

Still referring to FIG. 1, seed 17 is held in a seed storage systemshown here as a bulk seed storage system represented as bulk storagesystem 19. Bulk storage system 19 is shown here as a central bulkstorage system with at least one bulk fill hopper 21, shown here ashaving two central bulk fill hoppers 21 supported by the frame 11 of theplanter 7, remote from the row units 13. The bulk storage system 19 hastwo compartments shown as bulk storage compartments 23 with one shown ineach of the bulk fill hoppers 21. It is understood that the bulk orother storage system may have more than two compartments 23, which maycorrespond to the number of types of seeds being used for multiple typeor variety planting. Additional bulk storage compartments 23 may beprovided in each of the bulk fill hoppers 21 by divider walls orpartitions. It is understood that the bulk storage system 19 can beconfigured with at least some on-row bulk storage, with at least somebulk storage at the row units 13 themselves, such as by way ofmanual-fill on-row bulk storage compartments. The different compartments23 may hold seeds 17 of a different plant type or a common plant typebut different varieties or types 17 a, 17 b, for planting in differentmultiple type or variety zones of an agricultural field defined at leastin part by characteristics relating to at least one of soil type andmanagement type, or other characteristics such as low/high ground areas,weed issues, insect issues, fungal issues, buffer zones in organicfields that are planted next to non-organic fields, or others, such asthose represented as zones VZ1 and VZ2 in the prescription map PM ofFIG. 10. Although two different seed varieties or types 17 a, 17 b areshown, it is understood that other numbers of seed varieties may bestored on and planted by the planter 7 based on, for example, the numberof compartments 23 in the bulk storage system 19 for a particularplanter 7. Although the seed 17 may be described elsewhere herein asdifferent types 17 a, 17 b, it is understood that the description of thedifferent types of seed includes different hybrids or varieties. Inother words, the different types 17 a, 17 b of seed 17 include not onlydifferent hybrids or varieties of the same plant species, but alsodifferent seed products. Different seed products can include seeds ofdifferent species, coated and uncoated seeds, such as insecticide coatedand non-insecticide-coated seeds. The different seed products can alsoinclude refuge in a bag seed and non-refuge in a bag seed,plant-parasite resistant seed and non-plant-parasite-resistant seed suchas cyst nematodes resistant seeds and non-cyst nematodes resistantseeds, herbicide-tolerant seed and non-herbicide-tolerant seed, or otherdifferent products. The different seed products can further includedifferent crop seeds such as corn and soybeans, oats and barley,different cover crops such as tillage radishes and rye, or variouscombinations of these or other combinations.

Referring now to FIG. 2, planter 7 includes airflow system 26 thatprovides pneumatic power for use by various components of the planter 7by way of, for example, positive air pressure source(s) and vacuumsource(s) for establishing positive and/or vacuum pressures andcorresponding airflows, depending on the particular configurations ofthe pneumatic system(s) in which they are incorporated. The positive airpressure source(s) and vacuum source(s) can be known pumps, fans,blowers, and/or other known airflow system components. Airflow system 26includes a seed conveyance airflow system 27 and a seed meter airflowsystem 28. When bulk storage system 19 has central bulk storagecapacity, seed conveyance airflow system 27 pneumatically delivers seedsof the different types 17 a, 17 b from the bulk storage system 19 intoan on-row seed storage system represented as on-row storage system 25.Seed conveyance airflow system 27 delivers the seed 17 in an airflowthat entrains the seed 17 and flows along a flow path defined by, forexample, conduits that extend along the planter 7 to the row units 13 tobe dropped into the seed trench formed by the furrow opening mechanism.Seed meter airflow system 28 provides negative and/or positive pressurefor operation of seed meters at the row units 13, explained in greaterdetail elsewhere herein. As shown in FIG. 2, on-row storage system 25can locally store relatively small amounts of seeds 17 at each ofmultiple row units 13 to feed a seed-metering system 29 which can beconfigured to simultaneously plant different types 17 a, 17 b from thedifferent row units 13, or otherwise switch seed types 17 a, 17 b beingplanted from a single row unit 13, as explained in greater detailelsewhere herein. The different seed types 17 a, 17 b sent from the bulkstorage system 19 are stored in multiple compartments 31 of the on-rowstorage system 25 at each row unit 13. The compartments 31 of the on-rowstorage system 25 may be defined within an on-row hopper representedhere as vented mini-hopper 33. Compartments 31 are shown here definedwithin an upper portion of mini-hopper 33, receiving seeds from the bulkstorage system 19. Optionally, compartments 31 may include at least oneon-row bulk tank, or other separate and distinct compartment(s) on therow unit 13. As an example of on-row bulk storage, FIG. 3 shows theon-row storage system 25 defining part of the bulk storage system 19with manual-fill on-row bulk storage compartments 23 at the row units 13that stores a third type of seed 17 c. Although FIG. 2 shows two types17 a, 17 b of seed and FIG. 3 shows three types 17 a, 17 b, 17 c ofseed, it is understood that the planting system 5 may be configured todeliver more than three types of seed. For ease of explanation, plantingsystem 5 is primarily described with respect to two types 17 a, 17 b, ofseed. These explanations are equally applicable to more than two typesof seed, such as by scaling for additional seed types and withcorresponding increased number of components.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, the compartments 31 of the on-rowstorage system 25 feed the seed types 17 a, 17 b, 17 c (FIG. 3) to seedmeter 35 of the seed-metering system 29. Each seed meter 35 can be apurely mechanical-type seed meter 35 or a pneumatic seed meter 35. Seeddisk 37 is rotated to move at least a surface of the seed disk through aseed pool inside of the seed meter 35 that is exposed to the seed disk37 to pick up and singulate seeds using seed pockets or fingers from theseed pool. The individual seeds are conveyed through the seed meter 35for individual release out of the seed meter 35 through seed deliverysystem 39, which may include a seed tube, a seed delivery belt, or otherseed delivery mechanism, toward a seed trench of the agricultural field.Rotation of seed disk 37 is accomplished by way of a seed disk drivesystem. The seed disk drive system may include, for example, variouselectric or hydraulic motors, drive shafts, chains and belts, clutches,peg and hole drive systems, and/or other arrangements such as a directlydriven arrangement in which a motor directly drives the seed disk at itshub or periphery. Pneumatic seed meters 35 of negative pressure typesare further operably connected through a vacuum inlet 43 (FIG. 4) to theseed meter airflow system 28 of airflow system 26 to provide a vacuumairflow within a vacuum chamber establishing a negative or vacuumpressure within the seed meter 35 opposite the seed pool allowing theseeds 17 to be held against the seed disk 37, such as within the seedpockets by the vacuum pressure. Pneumatic seed meters 35 of positivepressure types are operably connected through a pressurized air inlet(not shown) to the seed meter airflow system to provide a positiveairflow and a corresponding positive pressure at the seed side of theseed disk within the seed meter 35, whereby seeds from the seed pool arepushed and held against the seed disk, such as within the seed pockets,by positive pressure.

Still referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, seed meter 35 includes a housing 41with first and second side portions or left and right covers thatconnect to each other at their peripheries to define an enclosure tocollectively surround a housing cavity in which seed disk 37 is at leastpartially arranged for rotation. Although seed disk 37 is shown in FIGS.2 and 3 as entirely enclosed within housing 41 and its housing cavity,it is understood that at least a portion of seed disk 37 may extend outof the housing 41 and its housing cavity. Other components may bearranged within the housing cavity, such as various seals that engageseed disk 37 to provide vacuum shut-off or positive pressure isolationand a seed singulator that is configured to inhibit more than one seedfrom being discharged from the seed meter 35 per seed discharge event. Abrush assembly may be arranged within the housing cavity to provide abarrier that retains the seed 17 inside the housing cavity instead of,for example, spilling out of the meter through the seed delivery system39. Referring now to FIG. 4, seed meter 35 is shown here as a vacuummeter with vacuum inlet 43 at one side or meter cover that is connectedto a vacuum hose that applies vacuum pressure from a vacuum pump orother vacuum source of seed meter airflow system 28 (FIG. 2) to pullseeds 17 into the seed pockets of seed disk 37 (FIGS. 2 and 3). Seedinlet 45 is provided at the side or meter cover and defines a passagethat receives seeds 17 from on-row storage system 25 that areselectively delivered from a system for feeding different types of seedinto the seed meter, shown here as pre-metering system 51.

Referring now to FIG. 5, pre-metering system 51 includes compartmentoutlet segments 53 defined in lower portions of the compartments 31 withcompartment outlets 55 that are sloped or funnel-shaped to direct seedfrom the compartments 31 toward feeder wheel arrangement 57. Referringnow to FIGS. 5-6, feeder wheel arrangement 57 includes feeder wheelcarrier 59 that defines a carrier cavity 61 that is arranged to receiveseeds 17 from the compartment outlets 55 and house multiple feederwheels 63 that are rotated for delivering seeds 17 through and out ofthe carrier cavity 61. The carrier cavity 61 has multiple cavitysegments in which multiple feeder wheels 63 are arranged, shown herewith a front carrier cavity segment 61 a that houses a front feederwheel 63 and a back carrier cavity segment 61 b that houses a backfeeder wheel 63. Referring again to FIG. 5, seeds 17 delivered throughcarrier cavity 61 by feeder wheel(s) 63 are released into and throughhopper outlet 67, shown here defined within a lower portion ofmini-hopper 33, that is connected to the seed inlet 45 of seed meter 35(FIG. 4).

Referring now to FIG. 7, feeder wheel carrier 59 defines a main carrierbody 71 with a generally box-like form having an open top and bottomends 73, 75. A generally rectangular perimeter of carrier body 71 hasfront and back walls 77, 79 at respective front and back ends of carrierbody 71. A pair of side walls 81 connects the front and back walls 77,79 to each other. Divider wall 83 provides a barrier between the frontand back carrier cavity segments 61 a, 61 b and extends perpendicularlybetween sidewalls 81, generally parallel to front and back walls 77, 79,and upwardly beyond upper edges of the front, back, and sidewalls 77,79, 81. Ledges 85 extend inwardly from lower edges of the front, back,and sidewalls 77, 79, 81. Feeder wheel supports 87 are defined at thesidewalls 81. Each feeder wheel support 87 is shown as a hollow puckwith circumferential side wall 89 that extends inwardly from sidewall 81into the carrier cavity 61 and an annular end wall 91. Bore 93 extendsthrough the end wall 91, and counterbore 95 extends inwardly into feederwheel support 87 from an outside surface of sidewalls 81. Bores 93 ofthe feeder wheel supports 87 on opposite side walls 81 are aligned witheach other.

Referring again to FIG. 6, bores 93 receive shafts 101 (FIG. 6) thatsupport and drive feeder wheels 63 (FIG. 6) by way of, for example,splined, keyed, or square cross-sectional mounting (FIG. 5) of thefeeder wheels 63 onto shaft 101 to lock feeder wheels 63 into rotationalunison with shaft 101. Outer ends of shaft 101 are shown with keyways103 for connecting shaft 101 to drive gears 105 (FIG. 4). Pre-meteringdrive system 111 individually rotates shafts 101 and feeder wheels 63 toselectively deliver one of the seed types 17 a, 17 b (FIG. 5) into theseed meter 35 (FIG. 5) at a given time. Referring again to FIG. 4,pre-metering drive system 111 is shown with multiple drive motors 113,with each motor 113 having an output shaft and gear (not shown) andengages a gear 105 to drive rotation of a respective shaft 101 andfeeder wheel 63. Motors 113 may directly drive feeder wheels 63, such asthose shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. It is understood that multiple feederwheels 63 could be driven using a single motor 13 and gears, belts,chains, or other power transmission components that connect the motor 13to clutches (not shown) that drive the feeder wheels 63 so that engagingand disengaging the clutches drives and holds stationary the respectivefeeder wheels 63. Pre-metering drive system 111 controls rotation offeeder wheels 63 to control seed flow into the seed meter 35. Referringnow to FIG. 4, at least one seed sensor, shown here as multiple seedsensors 112, are arranged in the seed meter 35 to provide a signal thatindicates a level of seed in the seed meter 35, which is used by thepre-metering drive system 111 in controlling rotation of the feederwheels 63 based on whether a currently planted seed type is beingfurther planted or whether the planted seed type will be changed, asexplained in greater detail elsewhere herein.

Referring again to FIG. 5, each feeder wheels 63 receives and deliversseeds through the on-row storage system 25 and toward the hopper outletsegment 65 and seed inlet 45 along a discrete path, shown as frontdelivery path 115 of a front hopper section 117 in which a forwardcompartment 31 is arranged and back delivery path 119 of a back hoppersection 121 in which a rearward compartment 31 is arranged,longitudinally aligned behind the forward compartment 31. Front and backhopper sections 117, 121 are shown receiving seeds 17 from remote bulkstorage of bulk storage system 19 (FIGS. 2-3) through conduits such asseed delivery hose 123 that connects to coupling elbows 125. A frontcoupling elbow 125 is shown extending through a front wall ofmini-hopper 33, and a back coupling elbow 125 is shown extending throughan upright stepped wall 127 of lid 129 of mini-hopper 33. Seeddeceleration elbows 131 may be provided inside the compartments 31 ofthe front and back hopper sections 117, 121, connected to the couplingelbows 125 for slowing the travel speed of seeds 17 and allowing theseeds 17 to drop downwardly into the compartments 31. Once in thecompartments 31, seeds 17 are guided through the compartment outletsegments 53 along the front and back delivery path 115, 119 by varioussloped surfaces of components that, together with feeder wheel carrier59, collectively define a hopper insert 135.

Referring again to FIGS. 5-6, feeder wheel carrier 59 provides supportor mounting structure against which various other components of hopperinsert 135 are mounted. As shown in FIG. 5, ledges 85 extend from frontwall 77 and divider wall 83 of feeder wheel carrier 59 support brushholders 137 that hold brush strips 139. Brush strips 139 retain seed 17inside carrier cavity 61 instead of, for example, spilling out of thecompartments 31, past the feeder wheels 63 and into the hopper outletsegment 65 and seed inlet 45. Referring again to FIGS. 5-6, toward thefront and the back of hopper insert 135, sloped surfaces provide rampssuch as front and back ramped arrangements 141, 143 that funnel thatseed 17 (FIG. 5) toward the respective feeder wheel 63.

Referring again to FIG. 6, toward the front of hopper insert 135, frontramped arrangement 141 has a front ramped cover 145 with bottom wall 147that covers a portion of the open top of main carrier body 71 andextends over a front portion of the front feeder wheel 63. Sloped wall149 extends angularly upward and forward from a back edge of the bottomwall 147, with an upper edge of sloped wall 149 engaging a surface ofthe front wall of mini-hopper 33 (FIG. 5). A rear ramped cover 151 offront ramped arrangement 141 includes bottom wall 153 that covers aportion of the open top of main carrier body 71 and extends over a backportion of the front feeder wheel 63. Sloped wall 155 extends angularlyupward and back from a forward edge of the bottom wall 153, with anupper edge of sloped wall 155 engaging a surface of divider wall 83. Thespace between the front and rear ramped covers 145, 151, defines a slot157 through which seed 17 can flow from compartment outlets 55 into thefront carrier cavity segment 61 a. Toward the back of hopper insert 135,back ramped arrangement 143 has a front ramped cover 165 with bottomwall 167 that covers a portion of the open top of main carrier body 71and extends over a front portion of the back feeder wheel 63. Slopedwall 169 extends angularly upward and forward from a back edge of thebottom wall 167, with an upper edge of sloped wall 169 engaging asurface of divider wall 83. A rear ramped cover 171 of back rampedarrangement 143 includes bottom wall 173 that covers a portion of theopen top of main carrier body 71 and extends over a back portion of theback feeder wheel 63. Sloped wall 177 extends angularly upward and backfrom a forward edge of the bottom wall 173, with an upper edge of slopedwall 175 engaging a surface of the back wall of mini-hopper 33 (FIG. 5).The space between the front and rear ramped covers 165, 171, defines aslot 177 through which seed 17 can flow from compartment outlets 55 intothe rear carrier cavity segment 61 b.

Referring again to FIG. 5, pre-metering drive system 111 and othercomponents of planting system 5 are controlled by control system 201 toplant multiple types or varieties of seed 17 and automatically andrapidly switch between the types or varieties during planting in asingle planting pass by controlling pre-metering drive system 111 toselectively drive rotation of feeder wheels 63, which may includeincrementally dosing or charging the seed meter 35 in discrete chargingphases to correspond to the seed type that is and/or will be planted.

Still referring to FIG. 5, control system 201 includes tractor controlsystem 203 and planter control system 205 that operably communicate witheach other, for example, by way of an ISOBUS connection, forcoordinating controls of tractor 9 (FIG. 1) and planter 7, includingwhich seed type(s) 17 a, 17 b are delivered, based on the type orvariety zones VZ1, VZ2 of the agricultural field. Variety zones VZ1, VZ2may correspond to a seed type or variety prescription map PM as shown inFIG. 10. In FIG. 5, tractor control system 203 is shown having a tractorcontroller 207 and power supply 209, and planter control system 205 isshown having a planter controller 211 and power supply 213. Each of thetractor and planter controllers 207, 211 can include an industrialcomputer or, e.g., a programmable logic controller (PLC), along withcorresponding software and suitable memory for storing such software andhardware including interconnecting conductors for power and signaltransmission for controlling respective electronic, electro-mechanical,hydraulic, and pneumatic components of the tractor 9 and planter 7.Tractor controller 207 is configured for controlling the functions ofthe tractor 9 by controlling, e.g., steering, speed, braking, shifting,and other operations of the tractor, which may include controllingvarious GPS steering or other GPS-related systems, transmission, engine,hydraulic, and/or other systems of the tractor 9. A tractor interfacesystem 215 is operably connected to the tractor control system 203 andincludes a monitor and various input devices to allow an operator to seethe statuses and to control various operations of the tractor 9 fromwithin the cab of the tractor 9. The tractor interface system 215 may bea MultiControl Armrest™ console available for use with the Maxxum™series tractors from Case IH.

Still referring to FIG. 5, planter control system 205 is configured forcontrolling the functions of planter 7 (FIGS. 2-3) by controlling, e.g.,product conveyance along the planter 7 (FIGS. 2-3), seed 17 deliveryselection, and seed delivery out of planter 7 to the field. This mayinclude controlling the positive pressure blowers and vacuum pumpsand/or other vacuum sources, as well as fans, blowers, of seedconveyance and seed meter airflow systems 27, 28 (FIGS. 2-3), as well ascontrolling other characteristics of seed meter 35 such as adjustingsingulator and baffle settings by way of controlling correspondingsolenoids, stepper motors, or the like. Planter control system 205 alsocontrols pre-metering drive system 111, which corresponding controlspre-metering system 51, such as by controlling rotation of feeder wheels63, based on the type or variety zones VZ1, VZ2, such as by theprescription map PM (FIG. 10).

Referring now to FIGS. 5 and 10, during use of planting system 5,control system 201 can determine planter position, speed, heading,and/or other movement characteristics by way of monitoring tractorposition and movement through the tractor controller 207. Tractorcontroller 207 may evaluate, for example, a speed input signal from atractor speed sensor along with a GPS signal or data from tractor GPSwith respect to the prescription map PM (FIG. 10). Referring again toFIG. 5, using such evaluations, control system 201 determines which rowunits 13 should plant which seed type(s) 17 a, 17 b and when, to achievesuch multi-seed type planting. The planter controller 211 commandspre-metering drive system 111 to selectively drive rotation or stoprotation of the feeder wheels 63 to achieve multi-seed-type plantingaccording to the prescription map PM (FIG. 10).

Referring now to FIGS. 5, 8, and 10, FIG. 8 shows an exemplary method221 that control system 201 (FIG. 5) may use to control planting system5 (FIG. 5) according to prescription map PM (FIG. 10). As an initialstep represented in block 223, control system 201 monitors travelcharacteristics of planter 7 (FIG. 1) and/or tractor 9 (FIG. 1) in thefield. This may include monitoring position, heading, and ground speed,as shown in blocks 225, 227, 229. For example, control system 201 mayinput signals or other information from various systems and componentsof planter 7 and/or tractor 9 such as GPS unit(s) and speed sensorsrelated to position, heading, and ground speed at blocks 225, 227, and229 to determine and monitor the field travel characteristics such aswhere the planter 7 and/or tractor 9 is positioned in the field, whichdirection it is facing, and its travel speed. Control system 201 alsomonitors planting characteristics, as represented in block 231. This mayinclude monitoring seed type 17 a, 17 b, such as which type of seed 17is currently being planted, and which type(s) of seed 17 are stored indifferent compartments of the bulk storage and/or on row storage systems19, 25 (FIGS. 2-3), as well as planting rates, as represented in blocks233, 235. Block 237 represents the control system 201 evaluating whethera change in zone type or variety zone VZ1, VZ2 (FIG. 9) is approaching,which may correspond to a zone boundary that is within a predetermineddistance and/or estimated time to cross the zone boundary into a nextvariety zone VZ1, VZ2. If there is no approaching zone change, thecontrol system 201 continues to monitor seed level within the seed meter35, which may be based on, for example, signals from seed sensors 112(FIG. 4), at block 239. This may include comparing the signals or otherinformation from seed sensors 112 (FIG. 4) and therefore a current seedlevel value with a seed level threshold value(s) that is saved in ordetermined by control system 201. The seed level threshold value(s) mayinclude a range of acceptable seed level values defined between a lowerseed level threshold value and an upper seed level threshold value. Asrepresented at blocks 241 and 243, control system 201 makes a feedingrate decision based on the comparison of the current seed level value tothe upper and lower seed level threshold values. At block 241, if thecurrent seed level value is greater than the upper seed level thresholdvalue, then control system 201 decreases the feeding rate, asrepresented in block 245. This may be done by controlling pre-meteringdrive system 111 to command a slower rotation of the feeder wheel 63(block 245) that feeds the active seed type or variety to seed meter 35at block 247, with the active variety being the variety that iscurrently being fed by the pre-metering system 51 (FIG. 5). At block241, if the current seed level value is not greater than the upper seedlevel threshold value, then control system 201 compares the current seedlevel value to the lower seed level threshold value at block 243. Atblock 243, if the current seed level value is not less than the lowerseed level threshold value, then no change is made to the feeding rateso that control system 201 maintains the current feeding rate whilefeeding of the active seed variety at block 247. At block 243, if thecurrent seed level value is less than the lower seed level thresholdvalue, then control system 201 increases the feeding rate, asrepresented in block 249. This may be done by controlling pre-meteringdrive system 111 to command a faster rotation of the feeder wheel 63(block 249) that feeds the active seed type to seed meter 35 at block247.

Still referring to FIG. 8 with additional reference to FIGS. 5 and 10,if at block 237 the control system 201 determines that there is anapproaching zone change, then the control system 201 evaluates whetherto command a seed switchover procedure. As represented at block 251,control system 201 compares an active variety to the next prescriptionvariety, with the next prescription variety being the prescription forthe next upcoming variety zone. If the active variety is the same as thenext prescription variety, then control system 201 continues to monitorseed level at block 239. If at block 251 control system 201 determinesthat the active variety is not the same as the next prescriptionvariety, then feeding the active seed type is stopped at block 253. Thismay be done by control system 201 controlling pre-metering drive system111 to stop the rotation of the feeder wheel 63 that feeds the activeseed type to seed meter 35, and may include holding all of the feederwheels 63 in a stopped condition to reduce the amount of seed in theseed pool. As represented at block 255, control system 201 monitors seedlevel within the seed meter 35, like at block 239. Control system 201determines whether the seed level is low at block 255. The low seedlevel determination at block 257 may be similar to that at block 243 byusing the same seed lower level threshold value used in the comparisonfor the feeding rating control at block 243, or control system 201 mayuse a different value. When control system 201 uses a different value atblock 257, the different value may correspond to a changeover low seedlevel value that may correspond to a smaller seed pool or a relativelymore starved condition of the seed meter 35 compared to what is requiredto trigger an increased feeding rate at block 249. This is representedas a determination of whether the seed level is below a starvationthreshold value at block 257. Regardless, at block 257, if the seedlevel is not low, then control system 201 continues to monitor whether azone boundary is approaching at block 237. If the seed level is low,such as below the starvation threshold, then control system 201evaluates whether the variety boundary has been crossed, as representedat block 259. If the variety boundary has not been crossed, then controlsystem 201 sets the active variety to the next prescription variety ofthe next prescription variety zone VZ1, VZ2 (FIG. 10) at block 261. Thencontrol system 201 controls pre-metering drive system 111 to startrotating the feeder wheel 63 that feeds the (new) active seed type tofeed seeds that correspond to the next prescription variety zone to seedmeter 35 as the active variety at block 247. If at block 259 controlsystem 201 determines that the variety boundary has been crossed, thecontrol system 201 sets the active variety of seeds to the currentprescription variety in which the planter is positioned at that time,with the current prescription variety being the prescription for thevariety zone that the machine is currently located in, as represented atblock 263. Then control system 201 continues to feed the active varietyat block 247.

Referring now to FIGS. 5, 9, and 10, FIG. 9 shows another exemplarymethod 301 that control system 201 (FIG. 5) may use to control plantingsystem 5 (FIG. 5) according to prescription map PM (FIG. 10). Method 301represents an example of an incremental feeding methodology. Controlsystem 201 monitors travel in the field as represented at block 303.This may include evaluating information from various systems of planter7 and/or tractor 9 related to prescription map PM, GPS position, andheading, as represented at blocks 305, 307, and 309 to determine thefield travel characteristics. Control system 201 may calculate thenumber of plants until the next zone boundary, as represented at block311. This may include an evaluation of planting density such asseeds/feet and/or seeds/acre as shown in block 313 along with in-rowseed spacing or row spacing distances as shown in block 315 with respectto the monitored field travel information such as distance to the nextvariety zone VZ1, VZ2 (FIG. 10). As represented at block 317, aprogrammed value of a seed pool count is established. This may be donein a variety of ways. Pre-operation static calibration runs may beperformed to establish program values of seed pool count, which is thenstored by control system 201, or control system 201 may activelycalibrate to establish the programmed value of seed pool count duringthe planting operation. Control system 201 may use system defaults forthe program values of seed pool count based on user input of seed typeand size, which may be stored in, for example, lookup tables or otherdata storage arrangements. Optionally, the program values for seed poolcount can be directly inputted for use by control system 201 by the useror provided by third party seed information providers. Regardless,control system 201 compares the seed pool count to the number of plantsuntil the next time boundary as represented at block 319. If at block319 control system 201 determines that the seed pool count is less thanor equal to the number of plants to the next boundary, then controlsystem 201 sets the active variety to the current prescription varietyas represented at block 321. Control system 201 monitors seed level inseed meter 35, as represented at block 323, for example, by evaluatingsignals or other information from seed sensors 112 (FIG. 4). At block325, if the control system 201 determines that seed level is low, suchas below a threshold value, then a programmed amount of the activevariety of seed is fed to seed meter 35 at block 327. The programmedamount may correspond to a known volume such as a volume of a full orpartially full seed pool of the seed meter 35 or may correspond to anumber of rotations of feeder wheel 63 to deliver a particular amount ofseed. At block 325, if the control system 201 determines that seed levelis not low, then another comparison of the seed pool count is made tothe number of plants to the next boundary at block 319. If thecomparison at block 319 shows that the seed pool count is not less thanor equal to the number of plants to the next boundary, the controlsystem 201 sets the active variety to the next prescription variety atblock 329. Then control system 201 continues to monitor seed level andevaluate whether seed level is low at blocks 323, 325. When the seedlevel is low, a preprogrammed amount of the (new) current seed type isfed to seed meter 35 by control system 201 by controlling pre-meteringdrive system 111 to command rotation of the corresponding feeder wheel63 at block 327.

Many changes and modifications could be made to the invention withoutdeparting from the spirit thereof. Various components and features ofthe system 5, for example, components or features of the seed storagesystem(s), charging system(s), and seed metering system(s) can beincorporated alone or in different combinations on a planter. The scopeof these changes will become apparent from the appended claims.

We claim:
 1. A pre-metering system for a multi-variety planter forplanting multiple types of seed in a single planting pass duringrow-crop planting of an agricultural field, the multi-variety planterincluding a plurality of row-units supported by a frame configured tomove over the agricultural field, and a seed meter carried by each ofthe plurality of row units, the pre-metering system feeding differenttypes of seed into each seed meter of each row-unit of the plurality ofrow-units for planting the agricultural field, the pre-metering systemcomprising: a feeder wheel carrier arranged between multiplecompartments of an on-row seed storage system that includes multiplecompartments arranged at each of the plurality of row-units forseparately storing multiple types of seed in multiple compartments ateach row-unit, and a single outlet, each seed meter at each row-unitconfigured to singulate seed for delivery onto an agricultural field,each seed meter having a housing with a single, seed inlet for directingseeds into the seed meter; and multiple feeder wheels supported by thefeeder wheel carrier, with each one of the multiple feeder wheelsarranged to receive seed from a respective one of the multiplecompartments and selectively deliver the seed through the outlet to aseed meter inlet of the seed meter housing.
 2. The pre-metering systemof claim 1, wherein at least one seed sensor is arranged at the seedmeter for detecting a seed condition within the seed meter and whereinthe multiple feeder wheels are selectively rotated to feed one of themultiple types of seed to the seed meter based on the detected seedcondition within the seed meter.
 3. The pre-metering system of claim 2,wherein which one of the multiple feeder wheels is rotated is based on adetermination of an approaching zone change in which a different one ofthe multiple types of seed is to be planted.
 4. The pre-metering systemof claim 3, wherein the determination of the approaching zone change isbased on an evaluation of a planting rate value, a ground speed value,and a position of the planter and/or tractor in the agricultural field.5. The pre-metering system of claim 3, wherein the determination of theapproaching zone change is based on an evaluation of a distance to anapproaching zone that is different than a currently planted zone and aplanting density value.
 6. The pre-metering system of claim 1, whereinthe feeder wheel carrier comprises a main carrier body withinterconnected walls that extend around a carrier cavity and wherein themultiple feeder wheels are arranged within the carrier cavity.
 7. Thepre-metering system of claim 6, wherein the carrier cavity definesmultiple carrier cavity segments that are separated from each other andwherein the multiple feeder wheels are respectively arranged in themultiple carrier cavity segments.
 8. The pre-metering system of claim 1,wherein each of the compartments of the on-row seed storage systemincludes a compartment outlet with sloped surfaces that slope toward thefeeder wheel carrier to funnel the seed toward the respective feederwheel.
 9. The pre-metering system of claim 8, wherein the slopedsurfaces at each compartment outlet are defined by front and back rampedarrangements that each slopes downwardly toward the respective feederwheel and wherein the front and back ramped arrangements are spaced fromeach other to define a slot that overlies the respective feeder wheel.